Eureka! Daily discoveries for the scientifically bent: 4-19-2010

QUIRKS OF NATURE

Fiddler crabs are one of only a few species known to form defense coalitions against common enemies. When a strange crab enters the home turf of burrowed crab-neighbors, the settled crabs will sometimes combine forces to better repel the invader. These alliances are strategic and most often occur when one established crab is bigger than both the intruder and the neighbor, which means there’s a good chance of winning.

“The best explanation is better the devil you know,” Australian researcher Michael Jennions told New Scientist magazine. Once crabs get to know their neighbors and have worked out borders and relationships, they don’t want to continually refight those battles.